When playing football, you should call it GOAT.

Chapter 75 The whole world is talking about "Beckham"

The locker room at Clairefontaine.

Landreau and Coupe walked in one after the other, while Barthez was sitting in front of the cabinet, wiping his bald head with a towel.

The three goalkeepers exchanged glances briefly. Coupet turned to look at Landreau, his lips twitching slightly—the aftershocks of last season's Ligue 1 best goalkeeper competition were still lingering.

Barthes suddenly tossed the towel at Landreau: "Rookie, catch!"

Landreau caught it steadily, and a tentative burst of laughter erupted in the locker room.

Lizarazu and Thuram sat at opposite ends of the locker room, with Mexes and Gallas in between.

Mexes was imitating Desailly's signature header, which amused him and made him laugh heartily.

Roy pushed open the locker room door, followed by Giuly and Rothen; the three of them walked in an eerily synchronized manner.

Pires sat in the corner tidying up his socks. When he looked up, he made a brief eye contact with Henry. Pires nodded slightly, but Henry turned his gaze to Wiltord.

Dabo tapped the locker with a water bottle and whispered to Dacot, "Zizou isn't here, the hyenas are going to steal the meat."

Roy strode towards Henry, a signature "sincere" smile on his lips, and extended his hand—

"Thierry! Premier League Player of the Year! Best International Sportsperson!"

On June 6, Henry received the 30th Verity Club Award and was named the best international sports figure.

Henry looked up, a polite smile appearing on his face, and grasped his hand with a firm but not too light touch:
"You're pretty good too, the best in Ligue 1."

His voice was calm, but his eyes flickered slightly, and there was a momentary unnaturalness at the corner of his mouth when he lowered his head.

Then, Henry lowered his voice and spoke a little faster than usual, as if he was eager to finish what he had to say:

"The old man really wants you to come to London."

"He has asked the board to sign you more than once."

Roy raised an eyebrow slightly, his smile deepening, but he didn't reply.

Henry released his grip, turned, and walked towards his locker, his back slightly stiff.

Cissé was still wearing sunglasses in the locker room, the lenses reflecting the image of the two clasping hands, while Maley exchanged a glance with Govou from the Lyon faction.

As Roy greeted Coupe and Govou.

Coupet grinned: "It wasn't going to be that easy for you guys to win the championship."

Roy shrugged: "Praise to Malouda and Drogba, I've been praying every day lately that God will bless them."

Juli immediately contradicted him: "You fucking don't believe in God at all, you damn faithless brat."

Roy raised his eyebrows: "For them, I'd believe for five seconds every day."

Coupe and Govou laughed and said, "Putain will definitely take you down next year."

After the evening training session, the corridor lights in the French team's accommodation area were soft.

Pedretti closed the door and prepared to go to the restaurant alone.

He was introverted and preferred to be alone. At that moment, he was adjusting his cuffs with his head down, his steps light and quick.

However, fate (or rather, Roy) had no intention of letting him finish his meal in peace.

Just as he turned the corner, Giuly's door suddenly opened, and a burst of laughter rang out—Roy and Rothen walked out arm in arm, teasing Giuly about how "retro" his new hairstyle was.

Roy looked up and saw Pedretti.

"Benoir!"

His eyes lit up, and his voice instantly rose eight octaves, as if he had met a long-lost brother, "Going to a restaurant? Let's go together!"

Before the other party could respond, Roy strode forward, stretched out his arm, and put his arm around Pedretti's shoulder, pulling him towards him.

Pedretti's body stiffened visibly for a moment, and his brows furrowed involuntarily—he was not used to this sudden physical contact, and even less used to Roy's "social thug"-like enthusiasm.

Rothen suppressed a laugh, while Giulie raised an eyebrow, his eyes saying, "Here we go again."

Pedretti tried to subtly deflect the question: "Actually..."

"Stop saying 'actually'!"

Roy interrupted him, his arm motionless, and chuckled as he pushed him forward. "Isn't it boring for you to eat alone? We can chat about the weather in Corsica—I heard the seafood back home is a hundred times better than in Paris?"

Pedretti: "."

My inner thoughts: I just want to eat a quiet meal.

But Roy had already "kidnapped" him to the restaurant without saying a word, followed by Rothen and Giuly who were watching the show.

At the Clairefontaine training ground, a fluid and dynamic offensive storm unfolds.

Pires received a diagonal pass from Dacourt on the left flank, turned and got rid of Sagnol with a touch of the ball, while Henry dropped back from the front line to receive the pass, drawing Mexes's attention.

After Pires and Henry completed a one-two pass, Pires suddenly used the outside of his foot to pass the ball to Giuly, who was cutting inside from the right wing.

Boumsong was forced to cover, and Giuly faked a cross and then passed it straight to Roy who had come on.

Roy, facing Silvestre's block near the right byline, suddenly used his weaker left foot to chip the ball to the far post.

Henry evaded Mexes like a ghost, and volleyed the ball from the edge of the six-yard box into the top corner.

Despite getting a touch on the ball, Barthez was unable to prevent it from going into the net.

Santini turned to Domenech and whispered, "See? Henry's runs on the left wing are still as natural as breathing."

Domenech nodded: "Roy's adaptability on the right wing has exceeded expectations; he's been working on his weaker foot extra this season."

Before he could finish speaking, both of them fell silent. They both knew perfectly well why Giuly had never been able to make the starting lineup.

Last night in the coach's office, Henry and Pires sat side by side.

Pires tapped his fingers lightly on the table: "Coach, Wiltord was a hero of Euro 2000."

Henry picked up the conversation, his tone calm but firm: "We need players with this kind of experience in major tournaments. Giuly is good, but..."

Santini paused on the tactics board, recalling the looks from the veteran players in the locker room.

On the training field, Giuly once again completed a beautiful breakthrough and cross from the right wing.

However, Wiltord's name still firmly occupies the right winger position on the starting lineup.

Domenech sighed: "Football is never just a matter of tactics."

Santini glanced at Roy, who was practicing his weak-footed shot alone in the distance, then looked at Wiltord, who was chatting and laughing with Henry, and finally crossed Giuly's name off in his notebook.

night.

Assistant coach Domenech opened his astrology notebook, and his pen drew several silver star trails on the French team roster.

“Roy of Libra,” he tapped the mark for October 6, “a perfectionist ruled by Venus, forming a trine aspect with Henry of Leo (August 17).

The pen nib suddenly stopped on Wiltord's Taurus symbol, "But here's the problem—Taurus's stubbornness is disrupting the cosmic balance of the locker room."

他忽然用红笔圈住久利的巨蟹座（7月10日）：“月亮之子本该与天蝎座的皮雷（10月29日）形成灵魂共鸣，却被狮子座的西塞（8月12日）用太阳火焰灼伤了。而白羊座的罗滕（3月31日）在星盘边缘闪烁着战火的光芒。”

"And this."

Domenech suddenly connected several constellations with a ruler, “Roy’s Libra is forming a golden triangle with Henry’s Leo and Pires’ Scorpio, which is a champion’s sign! But Wiltord’s Taurus looks like a piece of Pluto stuck in the orbit.”

He frowned as he looked at the black cross that had suddenly appeared on the horoscope.

"The universe has already provided the answer."

Domenech lightly touched Giuly's Cancer symbol with the nib of his pen, saying, "Let the gentle, watery Cancer smooth out the fierce Leo and Scorpio, and Libra be responsible for balancing everything. As for Taurus..."

He tore out Wiltord's profile page. "It's time to make him the North Star of the youth team."

This French teaching assistant embodies the most typical characteristics of the French.

To put it nicely, it's romantic; to put it bluntly, it's just frivolous.

During the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, police arrested a suspicious French ticket scalper outside the stadium. The middle-aged man, wearing a baseball cap and speaking with a French accent, was none other than Raymond Domenech, the head coach of the French youth team. As an official of the French Football Federation, he was caught red-handed by plainclothes police officers for reselling tickets during the World Cup.

As he was being put into the police car, he shouted that he was an official of the French Football Federation, but he still could not escape the French net.

After becoming the national team's head coach, Domenech went even further and became more unrestrained.

His first act upon taking office was to announce that the group of players who helped France win the 1998 World Cup were too old and should retire! He even persuaded a number of veteran players to retire.

As a result, the French team drew six consecutive international matches, setting a 70-year record that almost prevented them from qualifying for the 2006 World Cup.

Having just missed out on the World Cup title in 2006, as the head coach, he must have a lot to say, at the very least he needs to summarize the team's tactics.

Unexpectedly, when faced with the microphones held out by the media, Domenech actually recited poetry:
"Oh, look at the sky, so bright with stars; look at the fireworks, so beautiful yet fleeting; look at the universe, so mysterious and unpredictable; look..."

Before the 2010 South Africa World Cup, the superstitious Domenech insisted on a warm-up match against China, simply because France had won the World Cup runner-up title after defeating China before the tournament in 2006. However, this time, France's relentless attacks failed to produce results, and they were instead defeated 0-1 by a Chinese free-kick in the 67th minute. This loss shattered Domenech's "China magic" and foreshadowed the internal strife and crushing defeats that followed in the subsequent World Cup.

Domenech's superstition has reached a pathological level—he admits that stars attract him more than football, and that all his daily actions are guided by astrology.

When the French team's roster for the 2010 World Cup was being finalized, Domenech, who always believed that Scorpios and his own Aquarius were incompatible, tried his best to remove Scorpio players from the team, such as Pedretti. Pedretti was in his prime at the time, and was the strongest defensive midfielder in Ligue 1 in the 2009-10 season. He could have easily become the main defensive midfielder for the French team in that World Cup.

However, due to his "auspicious" zodiac sign, he was excluded from the World Cup squad.

Factional struggles within the French team were intense, and his astrological obsessions only added to the chaos: he used astrology to decide the starting lineup, benched players in hot form due to astrological clashes, and even used tarot cards to plan tactics.

This absurd management plunged the already divided locker room into an even greater crisis, ultimately leading to the strike scandal during the 2010 World Cup.

Finally, Domenech wrote in his tactical notes: "Libra (September 23 - October 22) is ruled by Venus and forms a 120-degree auspicious aspect with my Aquarius," but then immediately added in red: "However, Roy is on the verge of Scorpio on October 6, so be wary of Pluto's dark influence."

locker room.

Henry flipped through the newspaper and sneered: "Barcelona is asking for £3200 million? £15 a week? Laporta is turning Barcelona into a circus."

Pires shrugged: "At least it's better than going to Real Madrid. At least Barcelona doesn't play in the Champions League, so they don't pose a threat to us."

Henry continued reading: "But a Manchester United fan poll showed that 70% of people supported selling him. Ten years of Red Devils, just thrown away like that." Wiltord snorted: "Ferguson would rather keep his old face than have a 'heartthrob' in the dressing room."

Sylvester chuckled and interjected, "Hey! Show some respect to another old man. At least don't say it in front of me."

Cissé suddenly interjected, adding, "Didn't you guys see the news? I think it's more likely he'll go to Milan! AC Milan promised to promote Vitória as a movie star! Berlusconi is a media mogul!"

Dacourt shook his head: "Real Madrid denied it yesterday, but today they've come up with two plans to snatch him away. Florentino is much more adept at this than Laporta."

Thuram gave a mocking look and said sarcastically, "Barcelona can't even qualify for the UEFA Cup, what's Beckham's point? Is the pitch at Camp Nou softer than at the Bernabéu?"

Coupet, wiping his gloves, commented: "Laporta bought Beckham to garner votes, just like Florentino bought Figo back then."

Desailly grinned and joked, "When we won the title in '98, Beckham was being condemned as a sinner for getting red cards. Now? Clubs all over the world are fighting tooth and nail for him."

Henry grinned mischievously and nudged Pires with his elbow: "I heard Ferguson wants to buy someone to be his seventh successor?"

Wiltord raised an exaggerated eyebrow: "Wow, from 'heartthrob' to 'mad dog,' Manchester United's aesthetic sense is truly something else."

Suddenly, everyone looked in unison at Roy in the corner, who was intently tying his shoelaces.

"Shut up," Roy interrupted without looking up.

"You old water buffalo, you speak so softly when you're badmouthing people, didn't you eat grass today?"

There was a brief silence in the locker room, Wiltord's face was ashen.

Desailly said meaningfully, "Ferguson likes this kind of thing—"

He gestured a sprinting motion, "You can't die if you run like crazy."

Pires suddenly lowered his voice: "What do you think would happen if Roy really went?"

He made a gesture of throwing his shoes, alluding to the famous clash between Ferguson and Beckham years ago.

Hahahahahahahahaha.

Roy suddenly turned off the radio, which was playing a special program about Beckham's transfer.

He smiled and concluded, "Now when I turn on the radio, it's Beckham; when I turn on the TV, it's Beckham. The whole world is talking about Beckham."

Roy's feeling was right; the whole world was talking about Beckham.

In Asia, "Beckham" has long transcended his status as a football star, becoming a super symbol spanning sports and fashion, and can even be said to be a totem of football.

The top trending topic on Sina.com among Chinese football fans is criticism of Manchester United for putting their most valuable players up for auction in the transfer market. One fan vowed, "I will never watch a Manchester United game again."

Thai temples have placed his statue alongside Buddha images, and $100 T-shirts featuring his portrait have sold out in Vietnamese shops. The Japanese hair industry tracks his ever-changing hairstyles, and a 25-year-old Indonesian lawyer said Beckham's appeal is indescribable, stating, "Beckham is perfect from head to toe."

As the world's top sports IP valued at £200 million (US$3.345 million), Beckham's appeal in Asia is coveted by European giants. While Manchester United boasts 16 million Asian fans, research by FutureBrand shows that one-third of them are fans of the player rather than the team. This is precisely the core reason why Real Madrid and Barcelona are vying for him—the two La Liga giants need this "stepping stone to Asia," as their Japanese marketing director put it: "He's more effective at driving sales than the Beatles."

Even if most fans choose to continue supporting Manchester United, the emotional bond is hard to sever. The Tokyo Manchester United fan club faces the threat of losing members, with the person in charge saying, "Our club believes that Manchester United is more important than Beckham, but if Beckham transfers to another club, there will definitely be some members who will leave."

Bangkok Airport was once paralyzed by his arrival. Malaysian die-hard fans scoffed, saying, "Only girls like Beckham. If he wants to leave Manchester United, let him go," but this couldn't mask the business reality: when he transferred, Manchester United's Asian website saw a 40% drop in traffic in a single day.

Samantha McCollum, a consultant at FutureBrand, points out: "Asian fans follow star players far more than they are loyal to clubs. When Beckham transferred, millions of eyes turned to La Liga."

The current transfer tug-of-war is in fact an arms race between European giants and the Asian market.

Whether it ultimately lands at Camp Nou or the Bernabéu, that golden right foot with its curved arc has already carved out a more astonishing commercial trajectory for the football economy than a free kick.

While Beckham was worrying about his future, Manchester United manager Ferguson quietly took his wife Cassie to the resort town of Riviera in the south of France for a vacation.

So when people saw Ferguson enjoying a leisurely sunbath at the Holiday Inn Swissôtel, humming a tune with self-satisfaction, everyone was astonished.

Ferguson, his sunglasses reflecting the Mediterranean sun, lay on a private beach chair at the Holiday Inn Swissôtel, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest in time with the melody of pianist Livingston.

The waiter had just refilled his glass of French champagne for the third time.

“Alex, you look more like a tourist than a tourist.”

The hotel manager bowed and handed over an iced towel.

Ferguson looked up from between the pages of "How the Scots Made the Modern World" and smiled: "It's raining in Manchester right now."

Three British tourists hesitated a short distance away. Finally, a man wearing a Manchester United hat mustered up his courage and asked, "Sir, is Beckham really going to Barcelona?"

The piano sound stopped abruptly.

Ferguson closed the book, the sea breeze blowing his sparse white hair like dandelion fluff: "Young man, don't talk about work on vacation."

After the onlookers dispersed, he whispered to the Manchester United CEO on the other end of his phone: "Tell Barcelona, ​​nothing less than 2800 million."

After hanging up, he suddenly sneered, "Victoria should understand now that Hollywood is in California, not Old Trafford."

When the pianist started playing "Auld Lang Syne" again, Ferguson hummed along for a couple of lines, then suddenly threw the book aside.

Just then, a yacht sailed by, its stern fluttering in the salty wind, much like Beckham's departing figure.

The waiter later recalled that the gentleman tipped in US dollars, not pounds, that day.

Three days later, the Spanish sports newspaper Marca revealed that Real Madrid's secret envoys had contacted the Beckhams again yesterday. They represented two powerful figures at Real Madrid: President Florentino Pérez and General Manager Jorge Valdano.

Although Marca declined to reveal the location of the meeting, it can be reasonably inferred that it took place in New York City, where the Beckhams are currently vacationing.

In the early hours of June 13, Brazil arrived in France to prepare for the Confederations Cup. The Brazilian team's training base is in Rodgers, 40 kilometers from Paris.

In their first match of the Confederations Cup on June 18, they will face the mighty Cameroon.

As the door of the Brazilian team's chartered plane slowly opened, the first thing to flash in the spotlight was Ronaldinho's signature white teeth. He was draped his yellow jersey over his shoulder, and his earrings shone like crushed diamonds under the flashlights.

Adriano followed behind like a lazy cheetah, muttering "damn time difference" in Portuguese, only to be shoved off his feet by Dida from behind.

In the footage from Catalan television, Laporta's dark blue suit was glazed by the lights of the Mini Estadi stadium, the home ground of Barcelona II.

As voting drew to a close, the sampling screen at the exit was flashing 56.8% of the vote—his closest rival, Bassat, had only 28.9%. Although the official results wouldn't be announced for another two hours, Laporta's victory was a foregone conclusion, a figure that prompted his campaign manager to suddenly kneel and kiss the grass.

A defeated Barcelona player forced a smile in the distance: "We are powerless against Beckham. I proposed a complete plan to rebuild the club, but Laporta won the election by simply naming one player."

Laporta then invited all members to reunite and declared, "The new Barça begins tonight."

Inside the temporary campaign headquarters, staff members were reporting on the progress of negotiations with Manchester United.

Laporta suddenly waved his hand to interrupt: "Beckham's career ends here."

He loosened his tie and pulled two encrypted files from his briefcase. "A true revival requires these two men—Ronaldo Jr. and..."

The television began replaying his victory speech from three hours earlier:
"We take on this responsibility with calm, collaborative, and passionate hearts. In this fiery club, I am just a small cog. We will dedicate ourselves to eliminating the club's huge losses, improving the team's performance, and our goal is to bring Barcelona back to the ranks of the world's best."

The following day, Laporta held a press conference, where he urged Beckham to clarify his relationship with Real Madrid as soon as possible, and gave Beckham a week as the bottom line for this transfer.

June 17, Clairefontaine training ground, tactics room.

The air immediately crackled with tension as soon as Santini announced the starting lineup for the following day.

"Why am I paired with Wiltord on the right wing?"

Roy's voice wasn't loud, but it was enough to make everyone stop what they were doing: "Ludo (Giuly) and I could have scored more goals together."

Henry frowned and said sternly, "Don't question the coach's arrangements! This is a tactical necessity, and the starting players are the most suitable choices."

Roy smiled knowingly. "That's great, Thierry. I hope you'll always protect him under your wing."

These words were like a match, instantly igniting Wiltord's anger.

"What the hell did you say?!"

He stood up abruptly, his face flushed, his fists clenched.

Pires's face darkened, and he looked coldly at Roy: "Watch your attitude, young man."

The atmosphere in the locker room suddenly turned icy. Desailly and Coupet exchanged a glance, while Pedretti lowered his head and pretended to adjust his shoes to avoid getting involved in the argument.

Santini stood in front of the tactics board, observing everything with a blank expression.

He knew that this was not just a debate about tactics, but a power struggle between the old and new players—Roy's sharp edge, Henry's leadership authority, Wiltord's sensitive pride, and Pires's defense of his old teammate all erupted at this moment.

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Totti threatened to transfer to AC Milan, demanding the club strengthen its signings and maintain his salary, but President Sensi responded firmly: "As long as I'm here, he's not leaving!" Gazzetta dello Sport revealed that Sensi viewed this as "betrayal," while Totti's comments were reprinted on AC Milan's official website, hinting at a deeper meaning. Totti admitted he was willing to take a pay cut, but demanded a title-contending squad—he craves the Ballon d'Or, but Roma's mediocre performance is the biggest obstacle.

— Gazzetta dello Sport

St. Pauli is mired in financial crisis and needs €195 million to maintain its Serie C status. Fans launched a "Drink for St. Pauli" campaign, with breweries announcing a donation of €1 for every keg sold; the price of beverages increased by €0.5 per glass, with the entire increase donated. 2.7 relief T-shirts sold out, and former national team player Helmer volunteered to sell tickets, increasing the season ticket target from 6000 to 8000. Even red-light district workers launched a "Love for St. Pauli" campaign, suggesting that anyone seeking pleasure there contributes to the club.

—Bild

Caniggia vehemently denounced Rangers for their treachery, calling manager McLeish a coward who was "like Mickey Mouse, as light as paper."

This "Son of the Wind" scored 12 goals this season, helping his team win the Scottish Premiership treble, but was ruthlessly released from his contract.

"He promised to renew my contract if we won the league title, so I could realize my dream of winning the Champions League, but now he has shattered that dream with his own hands."

He bluntly stated that the championship was not of high quality: "The Celtics were exhausted from the UEFA Cup final, and we only won the championship by a single goal difference."

The words clearly express resentment and disdain for the club's breach of trust.

—The Scottish Sun

"Beckham has enormous commercial potential; he is a symbol of world football!" Butragueño, the famous Spanish striker of the 80s and now deputy general manager of Real Madrid, publicly praised Beckham at a sports business conference in London yesterday. When asked about transfer rumors, Butragueño refused to answer any questions. He also specifically reminded that if any club intends to sign Beckham, they must include his image rights in the contract.

—Marca

Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger reiterated his determination not to leave Highbury, and he even wants to extend his contract with the Gunners until 2006.

"Those who think I will leave Arsenal obviously don't know me very well," the Frenchman told L'Équipe. "I have already issued a formal statement clarifying my connection with Real Madrid, and there is no doubt that my contract with Arsenal will continue until 2006."

Arsenal finished as runners-up in the league this season but won the FA Cup. Wenger is gearing up to achieve two major dreams – surpassing Manchester United to dominate the Premier League and winning the Champions League. On June 27, the Gunners will begin preparations for the new season, and the Professor will continue to write his legendary chapter.

— L'Équipe

(End of this chapter)